Game of Silence premiers on Tuesday, April 12 at 10/9C on NBC before moving to its regular Thursday night slot on NBC at 10/9C on April 14. The series is based on a Turkish series, Suskunlar. David Hudgins wrote the “Pilot” and executive produces with Carol Mendelsohn, Julie Weitz, Niels Arden Oplev, Timur Savci and Tariq Jalil. Oplev also directed the episode and is probably best known as the director of The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo. Hudgins other credits include Parenthood and Friday Night Lights.
The series has a powerful cast, and they all deliver terrific performances in the “Pilot.” The show has a
Stand By Me feel to it as the central characters are bound together by dark secrets from their past. In fact, the secrets are like nesting dolls – as one is semi-revealed another one is teased. There is more than enough story unrolled in the “Pilot” to keep this show interesting for this entire first season. However, I do wonder up front how they can keep the plot moving so quickly after the first season. After all, how many dark secrets can these characters have? But that’s a worry for the end of the season – not the beginning which is promising enough for me to encourage you to tune in!
The
Stand By Me feel is established almost immediately as the central character, Jackson Brooks (David Lyons –
Revolution), takes us back in time to his group of friends in 1988. I’m looking forward to some great music on this show! The younger cast members are just as strong as their present-day adult versions which is key in this kind of story. Jackson seems to have channeled his past into becoming a successful lawyer, but that’s also meant that up until now, he’s also turned his back on his old friends.
The rest of the adult cast is filled out with Michael Raymond-James (
Once Upon a Time,
True Blood) as Gil, who clearly has anger issues. Larenz Tate (
House of Lies,
Rescue Me) plays Shawn, who’s stayed close to Gil. Bre Blair (
The Unit) plays Jessie – the one girl in the group. Rounding out the group of friends is Derek Phillips (also a
Friday Night Lights alumni) as Boots, who is the only one to have stayed in Brenham, Texas – the rest now live in Houston. Conor O’Farrell (
CSI,
Medium,
Dark Skies) plays Roy Carroll who will figure prominently in both past and present storylines as an adult. Demetrius Grosse (
Justified,
Straight Outta Compton) plays Terry another figure from the group’s past. Clair van der Boom (
Hawaii Five-O) plays Marina – Jackson’s partner at home and work. And finally, Deidrie Henry plays Detective Liz Winters who is clearly going to be a force in the present.
I definitely don’t want to give away any spoilers for the “Pilot” because it’s fun to watch them roll out. While you can see some of the “surprises” coming, their execution is well done, and in this type of show, it’s hard to judge how obvious they are until they play out completely. I do like how the show is focusing on how the past affects the different characters – both in how they got to where they are and in who they are now. The theme of justice is clearly one that is going to play out as the show unfolds. It takes a serious incident to bring these friends back to together...
In lieu of plot details, here are some quotes from the episode:
Fate, like life, is unpredictable. You never know where you’re going or who you’ll meet.
I’d rather die than have anyone know what happened to us.
The past is never the past. If it were, there would be no tragedy.
This is so much bigger than you know.
You walked out on us once.
This thing will haunt you.
We were like lambs to the slaughter.
There are lies we tell to make us feel better.
Don’t forget to tune in and catch the first episode on
Tuesday, April 12 on NBC at 10/9C – and then tune in on Thursday – same time and channel for episode number 2! I’ll have a preview up for that after the first episode has aired!
About the Author - Lisa Macklem
I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, Agent Carter, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, The X-Files, Defiance, Bitten, Killjoys, and a few others! I'm active on the Con scene when I have the time. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.
